Cover applying apparatus



Dec. 17, 1940. w. H. PAU-LSON 2,225,569

COVER APPLYING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 20, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet l fiwenior U/alier hf Pcuds0n W @241 am wwmaz d Dec. 17,1940. w. H. PAUL-SON 2,225,569

COVER APPLYING- APPARATUS Filed Oct. 20, 1937 s Sheets-Sheet 2 IP17 20 v 26 26 F p m 55 54 f 54 25 I 4 56 55 g; 42 L-UQJ 24- I 7 1|" 3? 11 k- I Q :92 l 1 151 ,v as B 27 I I 1 26 [O I 0' I l l I I V l v I I I a.

Inventor": waller' 5% Paulson Z571 Mai @W Mw Dec. 17, 1940. w. H. PAULSON 2,225,569

COVER APPLYING APPARATUS Filed 001; 20, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Dec. 17, 1940 UNITED STATES COVER APPLYING APPARATUS Walter H. Paulson, Lathrop-Paulson poration of Illinois Chicago, 111., assignor to The Company, Chicago, Ill., a cor- Application October 20, 1937, Serial No. 170,089

1 Claim.

This invention relates to cover applying apparatus. The invention is particularly useful for applying covers to milk cans or the like which are of varying heights and sizes.

An object of the invention is to provide cover applying mechanism which is of simple construction and which. accurately applies covers to cans or containers of varying sizes and heights, the cover applying mechanism above" the container or can been applied and thus out of ceeding can.

In cover applying mechanisms heretofore employed, it hasbeen common for a pivoted cover after the cover has the way of a sucdrag against the succeeding can. In the present 20-. apparatus, I provide means for automatically locking the cover applying device in the position in which it strikes the can so that no further downward movement is possible until after the cover applying mechanism has been again lifted to its initial starting position. Other specific objects and advantages will appear as the specification proceeds.

in the illustration given, Figure 1 is a side view in elevation of apparatus embodying my invention, other apparatus normally cooperating with the mechanism shown being eliminated from the drawings for the purpose of clarity; Fig. 2, a front view inelevation of the apparatus; Fig. 3, a side view in elevation of a cover cage employed; Fig. 4, avertical sectional view, the section being taken as indicated at line I of Fig. 2,. the cover stop being shown in inoperative position; Fig. 5, aview similar to Fig. 4 but showing the cover stop in operative position for preventing the cover from moving downwardly; and Fig. 6-, a transverse detail sectional view, the section being taken as indicated at line 6 of Fig. 1.

In the illustration given, A designates the frame or a portion of the frame supporting the apparatus embodying theinvention. It is common to employ with cover depositing structures, mechanisms for advancing cans or containers, turning the cans over,,removing the cans, etc. The letter B designates the cover applying mechanism.

The frame A as illustrated, includes a frame formed of beams [0, ll, l2 and. I3. Upon the member i is carried a cam support M and the cam I5 is fixed to and driven by shaft l6. For the purpose of clearness of illustration, the power means for rotating shaft l6 are not shown.

being maintainedapplying device to swing downwardly and release The cover applying mechanism B may be of any suitable construction. In the illustration given,

a lever I1 is pivoted to the frame member H at 18 and is providedat an intermediate point with a strap l9 carrying roller 20. The roller 20 is 5 supported so as to follow the outer surface of cam l5. Pivoted to the outer end of lever I1 is an upwardly extending tubular member 2| telescopically received within tubular member 22. The tubular member 22 is equipped with a flange which is pivoted to the lever 23, the lever 23 being in turn pivotally securedto the upper frame member l2 at 24. The lever 23 is connected at its outer end in such a way as to raise the cover applying device greater detail hereinafter.

The frame member I3 is provided at its upper and lower ends with bracket arms 26 in which are supported forwardly inclined tubular guides 21 designed to guide the cover applying device 25 in its upward and downward movement.

The cover applying device is described and claimed per se, in a slightly modified form, in a co-pending application of Harry D. Lathrop, Serial No. 113,511, for C over applying mechanism. 25 Broadly, the cover applying device 25 comprises a box or cage 28 equipped with a hinged bottom 29. The device is provided at its forward end with a stop member 3|! which is in the shape of a cylindrical device cut away on one side so as to provide a stop when the member 30 is rotated with its flat side rearmost. When rotated in the opposite direction with its flat side at the top, the member 3|] permits can covers to slide thereover. The member 30 is connected to the pivotally mounted bottom member 29 by means of gears 3| and fixed racks 32, the arrangement of the gears being such as to maintain the member 30 in stop position until the pivotally mounted member 29 strikes a can and is raised. The raising movement of member 29 rotates gears 3| to bring the member 30 to its non-stopping position so that the cover falls immediately upon the mouth of the can. The cut away stop rod member 30 is equipped with stop fingers 30% near each end which, when the hinged bottom 29 has dropped a short distance, engages the cage 28 and, because of the engagement between racks 32 carried by the hinged bottom 29 and gears 3| carried by the rod 30, prevents further downward movement of the bottom 29. When the bottom member 29 is forced upwardly against the bottom of the cage upon engagement with a can top, the engagement of racks 32 with gears 3| rotates the stop member 30 to 5 25 which will be described in 15 bring its flat side substantially in alignment with the bottom of the cage, so that the can cover slides over the bottom of the cage and over the flat side of member 30 onto the top of the can neck.

As shown more clearly in Fig. 2, the member 25 is provided with U-shaped laterally extending brackets 34 which engage at their outer ends sleeves 35, the sleeves 35 being mounted'upon the tubular guides 21. Thus the member 25 by virtue of the bracket supports 34 and sleeves 35 is free to slide upwardly and downwardly along guides 21 so as to bring the covers received thereby into engagement with the cans. It will be observed that the guides 21 incline forwardly at their lower ends so as to slightly advance the covers as the member 25 descends, thus compensating for the slight travel of the can after the member 25 receives the cover which has traveled pari passu through the machine with the can.

In order to lock the cover applying device 25: in the position at which it strikes the can, I provide the following mechanism: Pivotally secured to the outer end of lever 23 is a rod 36. At its lower end, the rod-36 is adjustably secured to a fiat strap 31, which in turn is pivotally connected to a dog 38 comprising a pair of flat members secured together. The dog 38 is pivoted at 39 to a member 40 secured to each of the brackets 34. It will be observed that the dog 38 has its lower ends turned downwardly at 41 to form a curved lower surface, the two plates of each dog being adapted to engage the guide member 21 between them as the lower end of the dog moves upwardly into locking engagement therewith. In order to assist in the locking operation, I have provided at least on one side, a spring member 42 which aids in moving the lower looking portion of the dog upwardly against the member 21. The two plates forming dogs 38 have lower curved ends 4| which straddle the guide member 21, and when the dogs pivot on pins 39 carried by the members 40 and are thrust upwardly against the guide member 21 under the weight of the rod 36 and the lever 23, this gripping off-center action serves to lock the cage at that point upon the guide member 21. On the other hand, when the lever 23 is raised by the upwardly pushing rod 21, the gripping ends 4| of each dog are freed upon engagement with the guide member 21, because the rod 36 pulls upwardly on the outer end of the dog. This permits the cage to drop. When, however, the cage strikes a can, member 40, which is a part of the cage, stops and is held stationary by engagement with the top of the can. The weight of rod 36 and lever 23 then presses against the outer ends of, dogs 38, thus forcing the inner end 4| upwardly against the guide members 21 and locking them thereby in that position. Should the can be moved away, the members 4| will still hold the cage in that position.

Covers are fed to the device 25 through chute 43. In the operation of the device, a cover is fed through chute 43 deposited within the cover applying device 25, the lower front portion 29 of the device swinging downwardly by gravity and holding the stop device 30 by means of the intermediate gears in stopping position with the fiat side of the bar facing the cover. At the same time, a can or container is brought forward to a position between the guides 21. The rotation of cam l5 brings a depression thereof into alignment with the roller 20 of lever |1 so that the lever drops and the shaft 2| drops with it. This permits the lever bar 23 thereabove to descend by its own weight. If there were no can between the guides 21, the cage or cover applying device 25 would drop its full length along guide 21 and should a cover be carried therein the cover would not be released. If, however, a can is positioned below the device 25, pivotally mounted member 29 is pressed upwardly and rotates the member 30 through gears 3| and rack 32 to a position where the flat side of the member 30 is uppermost, in which position the cover is not obstructed and freely slides onto the top of the can. At the same time, the device 25 is locked against further downward movement even when the can is removed. This is accomplished by the pressure of the lever 23 and link 36 against the outer end of each dog 38, this pressure being suificient to swing the lower end 4| of each dog upwardly so as to grip the guide 21. Such upward movement is assisted by the spring 42. In this position, the dog is pivoted ofi-center and the weight of the mechanism locks it securely against each guide 21. Thus, when the can is removed, the cover applying device 25 is held in the exact position in which it struck the can and cannot descend further. The dog members 38 are each provided, as shown more clear ly in Fig. 1, with a fixed upwardly extending lug 38 which engages the member 40 when the lever 23 is raised so as to prevent further tilting of each dog 38 and to permit the device to be raised. In other words, the lug 38 presses against the member 40 and permits the upwardly swinging lever 23 to move as a unit with the members 38 and 39 in lifting the entire member 25. -The lugs 38 however, do not prevent the outer endsof dogs 38 from swinging downwardly to look their lower ends 4| against guides 21 when the can is contacted during the downward movement of the device 25.

By providing a telescoping relation between members 22 and 2|, I am able to maintain the cam roller 20 constantly in contact with the outer surface of cam 5 and thus avoid movement of the lever |1 away from and toward cam IS. The result is a smooth and even opera tion.

The spring 22 in sleeve 22 is normally not compressed to any substantial extent in the operation of the parts but when an obstruction occurs, such as would be caused by two or more covers piling up in the cage, then the spring yields and prevents the breaking of the levers and other parts, etc. In the device illustrated, the cage 25 is movable on the shafts or guides 21, and is retained in raised position by the arm 36 connected to the dog 38 and by the arm 42 secured to the member 40 by a spring. When the lever 23 is lowered, the arms 36 and 42 are correspondingly moved, and the weight of the cage 25 causes it to move downwardly along the guides 21. The dogs 38 move downwardly with the cage. However, since the cage is heavier than the dogs, it will move .befor or at least as soon as the dogs, and there will 'be no danger of the dogs gripping the guides at this initial stage of movement. When the cage is lowered into contact with the top of the container, its downward movement ceases, while that of the dogs continues until theguides are engaged. In this manner further downward movement of the cage, even after removal of the container, is prevented.

While in the foregoing specification, I have set forth certain mechanism as desirable, it will be obvious that such mechanisms may be modified or eliminated altogether without departing from my invention. It will be found that the main operating parts which accomplish the new results herein set out can be modified in many ways while still utilizing the invention. The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom, but the appended claim should be construed as broadly as permissible, in View of the prior art.

I claim:

An apparatus for applying a cover to a container comprising, a frame, vertical guide means on said frame, a cover applying cage vertically slidable on said guide means, a lifting mechanism, an extensible connection between said cage 1 and said mechanism, said extensible connection being extended by the weight of said cage, locking means on said cage and adapted to engage said guide for preventing downward movement of said cage, and operating means for said locking means connected thereto and to said mechanism and being of such a length that said locking means is rendered inoperative when said connecting means is extended and rendered operative when said connecting means is contracted, as by the cage engaging a container on its downward path of movement.

WALTER I-I. PAULSON. 

